Science & Math

The Rock and the Raindrop: A Space in Time

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A raindrop has seen the rise and fall of civilizations and survived deserts of ice and sand. However, despite all of her adventures, this once-powerful lady has lost her way. That is, until a gust of wind—or perhaps a twist of fate—sends her face-to-face with a lowly rock. But what good could come from a conversation with a rock? Turns out, this is no ordinary rock. This particular rock watches the world around him evolve with a curious, near astonishing blend of precision, versatility and splendor, and he wonders about that. What hand lies behind such bewildering, unwavering might? When these diverse entities collide, sparks fly, and together they embark upon the path of discovery, unraveling mysteries neither would have thought possible.

In this lighthearted romp through a serious world, the rock and the raindrop combine their talents and explore the many ways—always subtle and often clever—God reveals Himself to us through nature. With the help of the surrounding forest, they unearth hidden mathematical and philosophical treasures, traces of the spiritual world working quietly behind the scenes. Replete with poetic charm, this delightful tale is an illuminating and thoughtful series of contemplations on the meaning of life, the power of faith, and the wondrous roads we travel in pursuit of the eternal adventure.

Meet Bjorn Wythette

 

A Transhumanist Journal: Writings that Launched the Transhumanism Movement

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After publishing his bestselling novel The Transhumanist Wager in 2013, Zoltan Istvan began frequently writing essays about the future. A former journalist with National Geographic, Istvan’s essays spanned topics from the Singularity to cyborgism to radical longevity to futurist philosophy. He also wrote about politics as he made a surprisingly popular run for the US Presidency in 2016, touring the country aboard his coffin-shaped Immortality Bus, which The New York Times Magazine called “The great sarcophagus of the American highway…a metaphor of life itself.” Zoltan’s provocative campaign and radical tech-themed articles garnered him the title of the “Science Candidate” by his supporters. Many of his writings—published in Vice, Quartz, Slate, The Guardian, Yahoo! News, Gizmodo, TechCruch, Psychology Today, Salon, New Scientist, Business Insider, The Daily Dot, Maven, Cato Institute, The Daily Caller, Metro, International Business Times, Wired UK, The San Francisco Chronicle, Newsweek, and The New York Times—went viral on the internet, garnishing millions of reads and tens of thousands of comments. His articles—often seen as controversial, provocative, and secular—elevated him to worldwide recognition as one of the de facto leaders of the burgeoning transhumanism movement. Here are many of those watershed essays again, organized, edited, and occasionally readapted by the author in this comprehensive nonfiction work, A Transhumanist Journal: Writings that Launched the Transhumanism Movement—part of a forthcoming box set book collection of his work focusing on futurism, secularism, life extension, politics, philosophy, transhumanism and his early writings. Also included are some of Zoltan’s new essays, never published before. Enjoy reading about the future according to Zoltan Istvan.

Meet Zoltan Istvan

Zoltan Istvan is widely recognized for spearheading the modern-day transhumanist movement, which advocates for using radical science to improve and evolve the human being. In his 20s, Zoltan started as a journalist at National Geographic Channel. Later, he became a successful real estate developer during the boom years, and still own many properties including vineyard entities in Argentina and Napa Valley. Zoltan was also a director at a major wildlife nonprofit, WildAid. In his 30s, Zoltan began writing a science fiction novel The Transhumanist Wager, which became a Top 5 Amazon bestseller book and won awards. Zoltan’s public work has received hundreds of millions of views, much of it through his political and science activism. He was the 2016 presidential candidate for the Transhumanist Party and toured the country in the Immortality Bus, which he used to deliver the original Transhumanist Bill of Rights to the US Capitol. He was also a party endorsed 2018 libertarian California Governor candidate. Zoltan has spoken at the World Bank, the World Economic Forum, Microsoft, Harvard and was the opening keynote at the Financial Times Camp Alphaville. He is a graduate of Columbia University, and lives in San Francisco with his physician wife and two young daughters. In a 5000-word feature on his work, The New York Times wrote Zoltan is “polite and charismatic” and has a “plausibly Presidential aura.”